The Sports Xchange
Nov 26, 2017
Marvin Clark II scored 11 points, including a 3-pointer that fueled a second-half spurt for St. John's, and the Red Storm outlasted Central Florida 46-43 Sunday in a consolation-bracket game in the Advocare Invitational at HP Field House in Orlando, Fla.
Shamorie Ponds made a pair of free throws with 1:13 left to give the Red Storm a three-point lead.
UCF had two good looks at potential tying 3-pointers on its final possession, but Ceasar DeJesus and Dayon Griffin each misfired, and St. John's (6-1) prevailed.
Sophomore guard Marcus LoVett had a rough shooting game, hitting only 5 of 20 shots, but finished with 12 points for the Red Storm, who won despite shooting 27.1 percent from the floor.
Junior forward Chad Brown scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Knights (4-2), who committed 21 turnovers and shot 26.4 percent from the field.
The game was tight down the stretch. Clark knocked down a 3-pointer that gave the Red Storm a 38-32 lead with 8:38 to play. The St. John's lead grew to as much 10 points, before UCF made a run.
Griffin hit a 3-pointer that trimmed the Red Storm lead to 44-43 with 2:38 left in the game.
Those would be the Knights' last points, though.
St. John's scored the first 10 points of the game and led for the majority of the first half.
UCF battled back late in the half. Brown's three-point play capped a 15-4 Knights run to close out the half and give UCF a 23-22 lead at intermission.
St. John's has a week off before returning to action at home against Sacred Heart on Dec. 2.
UCF returns home to host Missouri on Thursday.